To Be A Good Neighbor
by iMickyChan
Summary: There are numerous ills in this world that people have learned to survive, terminal diseases, accidents, the deaths of loved ones, but few can say that they have been Kakashi Hatake's neighbor and lived to tell the tale. KakaxSaku!


Hello! I'm back again with another KakaSaku fic.

Definitely another plot that was just begging me to write it, though school has given me a somewhat hectic and busy schedule, I managed to get at least this one part done. This will most definitely be a two-shot, and I already have Part 2 planned, just not completely written or finished.

I'd also like to thank all of the lovely readers that left reviews on my last story, much appreciation to the lot.

Enjoy!

* * *

Sakura Haruno has had her fair share of interesting neighbors during her four years of residency at apartment number seventeen. There was always a constant flow of unique individuals flowing in and out of the vacant lodging next door to hers. Strangely enough they never seemed to live there for long, and for multiple reasons ranging from the questionable to the ludicrous, they had all moved out as quickly as they had come. Regardless, the cheerful pink-haired girl made it a habit to greet each and every new occupant with a type of house warming a gift, a cake that she had hand baked or some other delicious dessert.

Her first neighbor had been an utterly insane lady obsessed with cats. Her second neighbor was a grumpy old scrooge whose vocabulary consisted of only harsh reprimands and profanity. And well her last neighbor had been arrested for multiple accounts of sexual harassment. She flinched at the mere thought.

Needless to say, luck had not been on her side and today was the day that she had hoped the tables would turn, that for once a _normal _individual would occupy apartment number eighteen. So with a smile on her face, optimistic thoughts, and a tray of cookies in hand she delicately knocked on the wooden door.

As the door swung open with a slight creak her mouth dropped wide open in shock.

"Kakashi!?"

He smiled. "Yo."

So much for normal.

* * *

Sakura absentmindedly prodded at the cup of coffee her former teacher had just placed in front of her, still staring at him strangely as if he had grown a second head. The last time she had seen him was during a night class in the college she attended her senior year, remembering that his lessons were anything but educational. He was devilishly handsome, obviously knew no shame as he had carried around novels with certain pornographic tendencies, and the man always served for a great source of entertainment, but being a good teacher was not on the list of Hatake-san's qualities.

Though she was obviously perplexed, the man seated before her at his kitchen table seemed all too happy as he enjoyed her platter of home-made cookies, making the occasional comment on how delicious they were.

"Why are you here, Kakashi?" she asked bluntly.

"Can't I visit one of my lovely former students?" he stated in between bites.

"Exactly. _Former_ student," but then understanding dawned upon the previously confused pinkette, "You were fired, weren't you?"

She spoke those few words as if it was a solid fact, with no room for argument rather than a question on her part.

"You're very perceptive," he smiled, "But why they fired me, will forever remain a mystery."

Sakura gave him a blank stare.

"You taught a Cooking 101 class."

"Right."

"Kakashi, you couldn't cook."

"Your point is?" he waved his hands in dismissal, "And I beg to differ, the quality of these cookies serve as a standing testament to my prestigious cooking abilities. I did teach you after all."

She sighed not even bothering to contest the blatant falsehood.

"Anyways, why move?" she took a sip from the mug, trying to make small talk.

Realizing that the plate of cookies had been completely devoured, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest before responding, "I found another job teaching at the college on the next block. So I needed to relocate myself for convenience," with a bit of contemplation he added, "Though I do have to say, being your neighbor is an added bonus."

Sakura raised a delicately arched eyebrow in disbelief, completely ignoring his last comment.

"Teaching what?" the poor girl was almost afraid to know.

Grinning like a Cheshire cat he replied, "Cooking 102."

After a bout of silence, the only sound that could be heard was the collision of Sakura's forehead to that of a solid wooden surface.

* * *

Her life had been turned upside down, inside out, whatever direction or phrase that seemed to indicate utter chaos, could be used to describe Sakura's current condition under the curse of having a complete psycho-maniac, albeit she admitted grudgingly, hot neighbor.

As if on cue, her doorbell rung, resonating through the entire otherwise quiet apartment. The sleepless girl huffed in irritation, throwing a pile of pillows over her head as she willed the noise to go away.

The incessant ringing only increased, and despite the fact that she knew her doorbell only rang at one particular volume, the annoying sound seemed to get louder and louder.

And then the sounds finally stopped. A pair of emerald-green eyes, hazy from sleep, peered out from under the fortress of fluffy headrests as the girl smiled in contentment and was just about to drift back into the land of dreams before...the knocking started.

She threw off the covers in a fit of anger and swearing, "Good grief, I'm coming!"

Yanking open the door with brute force as it amazingly remained intact and did not fly off its hinges, Sakura growled out a low, "Do you know what time it is Kakashi?"

"5:30," the man responded in an all too chipper voice that seemed to only further grate on his neighbor's nerves.

"Correction, 5:30 in the goddamn _morning_, in the MORNING!" her voice rose to a high-pitched shriek.

Kakashi glanced at the watch on his wrist, "Which was exactly the same time I woke you up yesterday, I don't see the problem," he looked up to face her as he smirked, "Nice pajamas. Bunnies today?"

Sakura's face turned a lovely shade of red.

"Y-y-you...," after a nice round of stuttering and pointing, she surrendered with a sigh, "What the hell do you want Kakashi?"

"I need sugar, I ran out," he lifted up an empty sack in explanation.

"I thought I gave you sugar yesterday when you so rudely woke me up."

"Correction," he stated mimicking her, "you gave me salt. Sugar...salt, see the difference?"

She rubbed her temples in obvious frustration.

"Why do you even need sugar this early?"

"I teach cooking, Sakura."

"Kakashi, you _try_ to teach cooking," she countered back, "and you fail at it."

"No, I am a wonderful teacher, but I _will_ fail at it, if my neighbor fails to provide me with some sugar, understand?"

Sakura didn't bother responding; instead she walked over to her kitchen cupboards and after a bit of rummaging made her way back to the door where the infuriating creature was standing. She threw the package of sugar none too gently at him.

"There. Now leave."

He smiled cheerily. "Why thank y-"

The door was slammed in his face.

* * *

But the disturbances did not stop there, day after day, he would come back for some other seemingly used up ingredient. Monday morning it was flour, Tuesday morning it was eggs, Wednesday morning it was butter, Thursday morning it was oil, and Friday it was vinegar. For a culinary arts teacher, he failed in being ready, but Sakura had always expected as much, she just never expected to lose hours and hours of rest as a result.

The sleep-deprived girl was on her last straw when in an act of desperation, Saturday morning when the silver-haired nuisance rang once again, she all but yanked him with her as she dragged the reluctant man to the super market.

Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets as he watched Sakura pace back and forth from aisle to aisle as she grabbed random items off the shelves, hectically throwing them in the silver cart that was being pushed along at a rapid speed.

"I've never been here before," he declared to no one in particular.

"With the way that you wake me up in the morning instead of hauling your cheap ass over to some place that actually sells the items you need, why am I not surprised?" she muttered back.

"Did you say something?"

Sakura huffed in indignation, mumbling a quiet, "Nothing."

After zipping through the produce section like a rabid pink monster, the woman smiled in content, finally satisfied that her job was done. With all of these groceries, Kakashi wouldn't need to bother her for at least three weeks.

He stared at the mountainous load piled into what seemed to be a trembling cart about to burst like a cracked dam.

"Sakura, I'm a cooking teacher not a millionaire."

She planted her hands on her hips firmly.

"Yeah, I figured as much, which is why I'm paying."

His interest immediately piqued by the simple statement he inquired, "Why the sudden generosity?"

She was about to throttle her former sensei. This was not sudden at all, it was an action completely induced by him, and it wasn't so much generosity as it was a method to prevent her impending spiral down the path of insanity. Instead of yelling this to him quite bluntly and damaging her precious vocal cords, she opted for a more sarcastic response better suited for her nature.

"These Kakashi," she said as she pointed at the bottom of her eyelids, "are what we call bags. They are caused by a lack of sleep, but in this case as you can see from the obvious progression of mine, a _severe_ lack of sleep."

"Ouch," he jabbed with feigned distress, "Are you saying that I'm bothering you?"

She stared at him blankly and without hesitation responded.

"Yes."

He pushed the cart over to the nearest check-out counter and surprisingly paid for all of the items himself without further prompting. Grabbing the plastic bags in one hand, he gave Sakura a limp wave.

"Well then, I suppose I'll be leaving with my spoils. See you around Haruno-san," this time she noticed that none of his distress seemed to be an act at all.

Sakura stood rooted to the spot, the mood immediately turning sour as she noticed that he only referred to her by her surname. This past week of jests and teasing had taken an unexpected turn. Why was it that he no longer sounded as cheerful as he had upon entering the store with her? As she watched the man walk away and out the automatic sliding doors she finally decided to head home herself, planning on taking the longer route back so that the two of them would not end up crossing paths.

Shivering at the harsh and bitter morning winds, she stuffed her hands in her pockets and though she would never admit it, missing Kakashi's warmth as they had walked here together. She had made up her mind in pushing him away, so why only after a mere few minutes of his departure was she depressed?

Arriving at her apartment complex and then trekking up the flight of stairs to reach her door she cast a quick glance over to the metal plaque with the inscribed number 'eighteen' next door, almost expecting Kakashi to poke his head out to tell her that he had somehow on his way home dropped all of the groceries in some river. But nothing of that sort happened.

Locking the door securely behind her, she plopped onto her sofa. Maybe sleep would erase the nagging feeling that was tugging at her heart, erasing what she thought was a dejected look upon the normally cheerful man's face.

Her heart was screaming something at her, a loud and jumbled cacophony of sounds that she could not decipher among the conflicting claim of fatigue on her body. And so she slept, unable to comprehend what she was experiencing. But though she did not understand now, she would soon. Whether or not the conclusion she reached would be accepted or denied, was all up to Sakura.

* * *

Reviews are utterly adored!

-iMickyChan


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